Nationals Beat Cards, Tigers Lead A’s 2-0 in MLB Playoffs

Don Kelly’s sacrifice fly in the
ninth inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 5-4 victory against the
Oakland Athletics and a two-games-to-none lead in their Major
League Baseball playoff series.

Game 3 of the best-of-five American League Division Series
is set for Oct. 9 in Oakland, with Detroit needing one more win
to advance to the AL Championship Series.

“It’s easier to win one, obviously, then to have to go out
there and have to win two, so it’s a great feeling,” Kelly told
reporters. “To be able to go up 2-0 in front of our home fans
is huge.”

In the National League, Tyler Moore’s two-run pinch-hit
single in the eighth inning gave the Washington Nationals a 3-2
victory against the host St. Louis Cardinals in the opening game
of their division series.

Game 2 in the best-of-five National League Division Series
is set for tomorrow in St. Louis.

“To get the first one is huge,” Moore said in a televised
interview. “It’s tough to play here and they won the World
Series last year, so it gives us a lot of confidence.”

In Detroit, Cliff Pennington’s run-scoring single gave
Oakland a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, only to have the
Tigers retake the lead in the bottom of the inning on center
fielder Coco Crisp’s two-run error.

Oakland’s Lead

Oakland responded with two runs in the eighth to take a 4-3
lead. Yoenis Cespedes singled, stole second and third bases and
came home on a wild pitch, and then Josh Reddick hit a tie-
breaking home run.

Detroit came right back in the bottom of the eighth,
scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game 4-4.

The A’s began the season 29th in the major leagues with a
$55 million payroll, compared to fifth-highest Detroit at $132
million, according to USA Today’s annual survey. The Oakland
roster was assembled by General Manager Billy Beane, whose
philosophy of evaluating players was the topic of the book
“Moneyball” by Michael Lewis.

The opener of the New York Yankees’ AL Division Series
against the Orioles started after being delayed for about 2 1/2
hours by rain in Baltimore.

The Yankees are 7-2 favorites to win the World Series. The
Tigers and Reds began today with second-best odds of 9-2,
according to the Las Vegas Hotel’s Super Book. The Cardinals and
Nationals are at 6-1, the A’s and Giants are at 9-1 and the
Orioles are at 14-1.